This invention relates in general to the field of mobile systems and deposition technology for plating and coating materials and more particularly to a mobile plating system and method.
Deposition technologies for coating and plating materials and developing engineered surfaces may include any of a variety of deposition technologies. These deposition technologies may include, for example, vacuum deposition or physical vapor deposition (xe2x80x9cPVDxe2x80x9d), chemical vapor deposition (xe2x80x9cCVDxe2x80x9d), sputtering, and ion plating. Generally, these deposition technologies may involve the steps of: (a) preparing and cleaning the surface of the target or substrate; (b) establishing a vacuum or desired pressure level at designated operating parameters; and (c) performing the deposition. Such deposition technologies involve large, expensive, and complex systems, equipment, and machinery.
For example, many such deposition technologies require an expensive, bulky, and complex vacuum system to establish and maintain a vacuum at a designated operating pressure. Such a vacuum system may include, generally, a vacuum chamber, mechanical vacuum pumps, which may be used as roughing and foreline vacuum pumps, a secondary vacuum pump, such as a diffusion pump, a cryo pump, and/or a turbo molecular pump, and complex pressure gauges, such as an ion vacuum gauge. These vacuum systems often require complex piping and plumbing configurations that must be free of leaks so that the precise and desired operating pressures and parameters can be maintained and followed. Such complex piping and plumbing is particularly subject to leakage at turns in the pipes or joints where pipes interface due to interface problems and mechanical vibrations caused by the operation of the vacuum pumps.
Some or all of the vacuum pumps, such as a diffusion pump, may also require a large and complex cooling system that, often, uses hundreds or thousands of gallons of water that must be cooled and circulated prior and during the operation of the vacuum pump. This may require a large and bulky water cooling system that includes a large water storage tank and a refrigeration system to cool the water in the large storage tank.
Because deposition technologies involve such large, expensive, and complex systems, equipment, and machinery, such systems must, generally, be permanently installed at a location. When large parts or components, such as those weighing hundreds or thousands of pounds, or when bulky or hard to ship parts or components need to be coated or plated using one of the deposition technologies, about the only option is to permanently install such a system at or near such large or bulky components. This allows such large and bulky components to be moved only a short distance to be coated or plated.
Unfortunately, because this is such an expensive option, it is often cost prohibitive. The high expenses include, not only the cost in procuring the real estate and equipment, and in setting up such complex systems, but in maintaining the equipment and in hiring and employing personnel with the special expertise needed to successfully operate and maintain such systems. Problems also exist in designing a deposition technology system. All such systems require custom design work to meet the particular needs and circumstances of the installation. Turnkey deposition technology systems simply do not exist. As has been illustrated, the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of deposition technology systems are complex and expensive, and, as a result, the coating or plating of large and bulky components using deposition technologies is often not available, even though such large and bulky components may greatly benefit from the significant advantages offered by such deposition technologies.
In some cases, the availability of certain components or parts is so critical that, from either a safety and/or a financial standpoint, the risk of a shipping delay or lost shipment, no matter how small, is too great a risk to take, even if significant advantages could be gained through coating or plating. For example, a reactor vessel head stud that is used in a nuclear power plant is so crucial and unique, that the risk of a shipping delay or lost shipment during a plant outage, such as, for example, during a fuel reload at a nuclear power plant that occurs every couple of years or so, is too great to take. For example, for every day that a nuclear plant is kept off line because of a delay, hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars may be lost. Thus, certain components or parts are so crucial that they would never be shipped to another location for plating or coating using deposition technologies, in spite of all of the significant advantages that may be realized through such deposition technologies.
From the foregoing it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a mobile plating system and method that allows a plating system, including all associated sophisticated equipment and system to be conveniently provided at a user""s location or virtually any desired location. In accordance with the present invention, a mobile plating system and method are provided that substantially eliminate one or more of the disadvantages and problems outlined above.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile plating system for performing a plating process is provided. The mobile plating system includes a vacuum chamber positioned in a mobile storage volume, an external vacuum pump, and a control module to control the operation of some or all of the operations of the external vacuum pump. The external vacuum pump is positioned in the mobile storage volume when the mobile plating system is in transit, and is positioned external to the mobile storage volume when the mobile plating system is stationary and in operation. The external vacuum pump may be mounted on a skid, and, in operation, the external vacuum pump couples with the vacuum chamber to assist with producing a desired pressure in the vacuum chamber. The external vacuum pump couples with the vacuum chamber using a flexible piping segment to reduce and/or eliminate any mechanical vibrations within the vacuum chamber and within the mobile storage volume due to the operation of the external vacuum pump.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for using a mobile plating system is provided that includes locating the mobile plating system at a desired location for plating, positioning an external vacuum pump from an interior position of a mobile storage volume of the mobile plasma plating system to an exterior position, and coupling the external vacuum pump to a vacuum chamber within the mobile storage volume of the mobile plasma plating system using a flexible piping segment. The method may also include placing a substrate and a depositant within the vacuum chamber, establishing a desired pressure in the vacuum chamber using the external vacuum pump, and plating the substrate with the depositant.
The present invention provides a profusion of technical advantages that include the capability to locate sophisticated deposition technologies, systems, equipment, and machinery for coating and plating at virtually any desired location, which substantially increases the availability of such important technology.
Another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to make coating or plating from deposition technologies available for large and bulky components and parts that cannot be shipped or cannot be easily shipped without having to incur the significant expense of designing, operating, and maintaining a complex system using deposition technology.
Yet another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to coat or plate mission critical components, such as reactor vessel head studs used at nuclear power plants. Because the present invention allows deposition technologies to be brought to the customer, unacceptable risks due to possible shipping delays or lost shipments are eliminated.
Another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to reduce or eliminate shipping costs, even for smaller components and parts or non-mission critical parts, and eliminate the need to incur the substantial expense and cost of designing, operating, and maintaining a complex system using deposition technology. This significantly reduces overall costs.
Still yet another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to operate noisy mechanical vacuum pumps, such as mechanical roughing and foreline pumps, external to the mobile chamber resulting in reduced mechanical vibrations and increased operational reliability of the mobile plating system.
Still yet another technical advantage includes the capability to use sophisticated cooling system, such as a water cooling system, within a mobile storage volume of the mobile plating system.
Yet another technical advantage includes the capability to use sophisticated deposition technology without producing or leaving behind any harmful waste byproducts. This is significant.
Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.